Encinitas Cityhood Vote Vowed Despite Setback

Bob Weaver, spokesman for an Encinitas-only incorporation drive, said Wednesday that although his group failed to gather enough petition signatures by a May 14 deadline, it still will be vying for a spot on the June, 1986, ballot.

Weaver’s group, Party for the Incorporation of Encinitas, is competing with a San Dieguito effort seeking a vote on incorporation of Encinitas, Leucadia, Olivenhain and Cardiff as a single city. Only one incorporation proposal will be placed on the ballot for the coastal area, he said.

“We are still in the running because there will be a lot of maneuvering before the voters get to vote on it,” Weaver explained. Both the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) and the county Board of Supervisors will have the right to approve or disapprove an incorporation proposal or to change the boundaries.

Political and economic factors could cause either of the governmental bodies to choose the Encinitas-only proposal over the four-community incorporation effort mounted by the North Coast Incorporation Coalition headed by Bob Bonde, the bullet train protester, Weaver said.

Bonde’s group and a Solana Beach incorporation group both met the May deadline set by LAFCO to file incorporation papers. Solana Beach Citizens Intending to Incorporate filed petitions containing signatures of more than 25% of the town’s registered voters, but the North Coast Incorporation Coalition chose an alternate route, avoiding signature-gathering by obtaining the sponsorship of the Encinitas Fire District.

“The fact is that LAFCO and the supervisors can choose to approve any incorporation boundaries that they wish, and their decision is what will go on the ballot,” Weaver said. “We believe--and we have a feasibility study that indicates this --that Encinitas is the only place where incorporation makes economic sense.”

Under a state Assembly bill now under consideration, LAFCO and the county Board of Supervisors would have the power to decide what share of the county’s property taxes would be allocated to newly incorporated cities, Weaver said. County officials are unlikely to be generous in subtracting from county revenues to finance new cities, he said.

“This would not hurt Encinitas as much as it would the three other communities because, according to our feasibility study, Encinitas could make it financially as a city without property taxes,” Weaver said. “Encinitas could make it on sales taxes alone” because Encinitas contains almost all of the commercial shopping centers and sales-tax-generating businesses in the four-community area.

The legislation has no organized opposition, Weaver added.

LAFCO officials confirmed Wednesday that their staff will study a number of other boundaries, including the Encinitas-only proposal, for presentation to the commissioners.

Weaver said that if Encinitas were to incorporate without its neighbors, eventually Leucadia and Cardiff would have to choose to merge with an adjoining city.

He suggested that Leucadia be split at Leucadia Boulevard (the western end of a future major east-west highway), the northern portion annexing to Carlsbad and the southern portion to the newly formed city of Encinitas. Cardiff would have the option of choosing one of its incorporated neighbors --Encinitas or Solana Beach--if both successfully incorporate in June, 1986. Olivenhain, he said, is still a rural community and could not pay its way in tax revenue if it were included in an incorporated city.

Workers in Weaver’s Party for the Incorporation of Encinitas will continue to try to collect 3,200 signatures on Encinitas-only incorporation petitions. Their new goal is sometime in June, he said.

“We are not required to submit the petitions in order to be considered,” Weaver said, “but it would help our standing, especially with the supervisors.” County board members grumbled after a 1982 cityhood defeat in San Dieguito that they would not consider future incorporation proposals without a significant showing of community support.

If the Encinitas-only incorporation is not selected, Weaver said, he would work to defeat any other incorporation proposal.